Novartis opens tropical diseases institute in Singapore

Switzerland's Novartis has officially opened the Novartis Institute forTropical Diseases in Singapore's new Biopolis research complex.

NITD will focus its efforts on biomedical research for potential treatments of neglected diseases such as dengue fever and drug-resistant tuberculosis, as the incidence of both these diseases is accelerating rapidly with more than one-third of the global population infected with TB and 2.5 billion at risk from dengue fever, the firm noted.

"Every second someone is newly infected with TB, which has grown to be the third leading cause of death globally for people aged 15-59, while dengue fever infects as many as 50 million people a year, and is endemic in over 100 countries," Novartis' chief executive Daniel Vasella said. "The relentless spread across the developing world of these diseases makes the discovery of new treatments critical. We will make a scientific contribution with the NITD, bringing together excellent researchers and world class advisors to help solve these problems," he added.